Greenville Task Force Suggests 250 ft Food Truck Buffer Zone
GREENVILLE, SC — With the concerns of downtown restaurants as their primary consideration, a citizen task force has made recommendations to the Greenville City Council for how to handle food trucks within the city.
In a release, Mayor Pro Tem David Sudduth said, “Our primary goal was to develop a plan whereby existing restaurants can continue to be successful, not feel threatened by food trucks, and introduce the growing food truck industry to Greenville in a profound and meaningful way.”
The city called the proposed regulations a win-win for restaurants and food trucks, but not everyone agrees.
Neue Southern Food Truck owner and Chef Lauren Zanardelli said, “We don’t necessarily see it as a victory.”
“I think proximity rule makes it almost impossible to park the truck downtown,” she said.
Currently, food trucks are not allowed on public property and must only be parked on private property. The new recommendations will require that food trucks be parked only on private property but now also include the stipulation that they be parked at least 250 feet away from any existing restaurant, essentially eliminating food trucks from downtown Greenville’s Central Business District.
The proposed regulations define mobile food vendor vehicles as: food truck, food trailer, mobile market food truck, catering-type food truck.
Scott LaRiviere, owner of Downtown Dogs, said, “I would definitely consider them competition. I understand everybody has got to make a living. Fact is, they are mobile and can set up wherever they want. They can pick and choose.”
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Maybe they should tell office buildings next to restaurants that they’re not allowed to order pizza because it might affect the bottom line in a their neighboring restaurants. Is this the USA? Are there really Mayor’s that want to fight for the rights of businesses instead of the rights of consumers? Look at LA, competition has made both sides stronger. When two competing interests, get together and decide how to split up the consumer base, it’s not called compromise, it’s not called a win-win, it’s called collusion and it’s against the law.
Scott LaRiviere, says” Fact is, they are mobile and can set up wherever they want. They can pick and choose.”…OBVIOUSLY NOT!
So why other brick and mortar competition but not mobile? Would LaRiviere stop a new restaurant next store to his? Is it that mobile vendors pay less overhead, doesn’t that make them smarter operators? No one is stopping Scott in opening a mobile unit himself.